NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
NOJHL NETWORK MEDIA UPDATE
Release Date: Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015
Crunch skate past Eskis 8-5 in NOJHL preseason play
COCHRANE – Jeremy McNeil had the game-winning goal and added two assists while Seamus Maguire tallied twice to help propel the Cochrane Crunch past the Iroquois Falls Eskis 8-5 Sunday night in Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League exhibition action at the Tim Horton Event Centre.
Both teams came out firing offensively in the opening 20 minutes notching three goals apiece.
Brett Ouderkirk gave the visitors the early lead as he connected 50 seconds into the contest.
Maguire countered that with the equalizer on the next shift to knot the affair at 1-1 before the game was two minutes old.
Cochrane then saw Joe Thielen set-up Alex Goulet and Maguire to make it 3-1 before David Osborne tacked on a pair for Iroquois Falls, including one on the power play, just prior to the period expiring to make it 3-3.
Six more markers came in the middle session as the Crunch connected four times while the Eskis picked up two.
Hunter Atchison put the home side back in front at 4:12 of the second only to see Ouderkirk add his second of the evening just over two minutes later
Thielen’s third point of the contest made it 5-4 Cochrane midway through as he converted during a man advantage opportunity, but the Eskis’ Tanner Bowditch knotted it yet again at 11:31.
The Crunch however took the lead for good before the stanza was complete as McNeil and Atchison both scored.
Zak Stepaniuk then wrapped up the night’s scoring with the lone goal in the third.
Joey Mavrin chipped in with three helpers to aid the winners cause.
Kurtis David faced 19 shots in picking up the win in the Cochrane net.
Josh Horner played the first period for the Eskis allowing three against on 13 attempts while Dan Davies went the rest of the way for Iroquois Falls stopping 16 of 21 in defeat.
NOJHL preseason action continues Monday as Cochrane travels to Kirkland Lake to take on the Gold Miners in a 7:30 p.m. start at the Joe Mavrinac Community Complex.
